In a process that involves merging scans of actual trees with those of human circulatory systems into a digital sculpture, a metal armature was fabricated on which layers of tactile polymer were applied by hand. Displaying visceral qualities, the tree’s branches resemble the human organ system, and its vivid reddish-pink pigment reminds of blood circulating through live tissue. Citing the pink hues the artist uses across her works, she has developed a translucent gloss that coats the entire 25-foot-tall tree. The branches carry three different sizes of branchlets, the ends of which mimic the structure and arrangement of leaves that bear no lamina.

The sculpture references a widespread historical archetype common to many religions, mythologies and folktales wherein the tree of life represents, at times, the source of life itself or the cycle of life and death, connecting heaven and earth. Evoking metaphors for ancient knowledge and the relation between human and plant life, Old Tree also points to a future in which the synthetic has blended with the natural. With elements such as roots that appear to be crawling off the plinth, Rosenkranz’s sculpture generates dissonance – a thing of beautiful strangeness.